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Ten natural ways to relieve nausea

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Nausea is just another way of saying that you feel sick. There are many causes for it to happen, but it will usually go away by itself without medical intervention. There are certain things that you can also try to aid your sickness in the comfort of your own home as well.

Ginger

One of the most popular ways to treat nausea is with ginger. It has long been used to treat a range of medical complaints, such as; nausea, stomach aches, and diarrhoea.

Although it is unclear exactly how ginger works to keep nausea at bay, it has been though that the active components, such as gingerol which is thought to directly affect the digestive and central nervous systems, which just goes to show how versatile it is. Research even suggests that it is safe to use in pregnancy and women that turn to this remedy to help them cope with morning sickness.

More research is needed in order to find out exactly what ginger can and cannot do, but it has also been suggested that ginger is also very effective for postoperative nausea, as well as the sickness that has been associated with chemotherapy as well. A previous study looked at the effectiveness of ginger in chemotherapy. They looked at a group of 100 women who were being treated for advanced breast cancer, and it was found that those who took ginger following their treatments, experienced significantly less nausea in the first 6-24 hours after their treatment than those who were in the control form.

If you are looking for ways to include ginger into your diet, there are a number of different things that you can do. You can use raw ginger in your cooking or alternatively drink ginger tea. Or, if you would like an easy on the go form of ginger, you can buy candied ginger, which can be eaten in the same way that you would have mints.

Peppermint

Like ginger, peppermint is another very traditional remedy that has been used for many years in the treatment of nausea. There are actually a number of health benefits for peppermint. Its leaves and oil are very helpful in dealing with indigestion and irritable bowel syndrome, whilst research has suggested that the scent of peppermint oil can be used to help ease nausea. This is thanks to its calming and numbing effect which relaxes your stomach muscles, allowing bile to break down fats, and that food can move through the stomach quickly.

The most common way in which people get peppermint into their diet is normally through drinking peppermint tea; however, it is also available in a capsule form that you can take daily. On top of this, you can use peppermint oil for aromatherapy, as long as it is diluted with a carrier oil, such as vegetable oil to safely dilute it.

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy has many health benefits, so it really is no surprise that it can be used to help relieve the feeling of nausea. Scents like peppermint and lemon are very good relievers for stress and anxiety. Again, a study has suggested their use in illness and ailments is effective. Patients were asked to smell one of three aromatherapy oils; ginger; a blend of ginger, spearmint, peppermint and cardamom; or isopropyl alcohol. The results suggested that the patients who had smelled one of the first two had significantly reduced nausea post operation, compared with those who had smelled the latter.

Using essential oils in the home is very easy as well. Simply place one or two drops of your chosen essential oil into a tissue and inhale when you have feelings of nausea. Although they can also be used as a massage oil, they should never be applied directly to your skin, and should always be diluted prior to being put on your skin to avoid irritation or an allergic reaction.

Take deep, and slow breaths

Controlling your breathing can really help to reduce feelings of nausea. In the aromatherapy study that we previously mentioned, postoperative patients were given some different blends of aromatherapy oils to breathe in. They were instructed to breathe these oils in slowly through the nose and exhale through the mouth three times.

All of the participants, including those who had been placed in the placebo group, actually reported a decrease in nausea, which led the researchers to believe that in actual fact, the controlled breathing actually provided some relief in itself.

To further these claims, researchers carried out a second study where it was confirmed that aromatherapy and controlled breathing did both independently relieve nausea. The participants were asked to inhale through their nose to a count of three, hold their breath to a count of three, before exhaling to a count of three.

Relax your muscles

Relaxing your muscles is a really effective way of relieving nausea, and just generally making you feel better about yourself. One highly rated technique is the progressive muscle relaxation or PMR. This technique requires individuals to tense and relax their muscles in a continuous sequence in order to achieve physical and mental relaxation.

Research has backed these claims that it can help to reduce nausea, with one study finding that PMR was an effective way of reducing the severity of nausea as a result of chemotherapy.

Alternatively, you can relieve your muscle tension through massage. A study again looked at chemotherapy patients, where one group of patients were given a 20 minute lower arm or lower leg massage during their treatment. These patients were 4 percent less likely to become nauseous after treatment compared to those who were not given the massage.

Use certain spices

Just like essential oils, some spices are really effective at helping beat nausea as well. It should be noted that research supporting this is only anecdotal, but there is some scientific evidence that can back up the claims as well.

Fennel powder has been proven to reduce menstrual symptoms, which can include nausea, and also to help women experience shorter periods. Cinnamon can reduce the severity of nausea that women experience during menstruation and cumin extract can help improve symptoms like abdominal pain, nausea, constipation and diarrhoea for in those individuals who suffer from IBS.

It should be noted though that more research and studies need to be carried out in order to draw strong conclusions. The research that has been carried out as well suggests that large doses are required. The aforementioned studies used doses that ranged between 180-420mg each day.

Take a vitamin B6 supplement

Vitamin B6 supplements have a number of different benefits, including helping both physical and psychological functions, such as the ability for it to provide indigestion relief, and reducing the nausea felt in pregnancy.

A study involved 31 female patients who each received 25-milligram tablets of vitamin B6 every eight hours for 72 hours, and 28 women received a placebo drug, which was administered in exactly the same way. Twelve of the women 31 women who were put in the vitamin B6 group had experienced severe nausea prior to the treatment.

After three days, just 8 of the 31 patients in the vitamin B6 group experienced any vomiting, and after the tablets had been taken, there was a huge difference between the mean difference in nausea score between those who had the vitamin B6 and those who received the placebo.

In order to relieve the symptoms of nausea, you should be taking 25 milligrams of vitamin B6 three times a day until the symptoms disappear.

Chamomile tea

This herbal tea is one of the worlds most popular herbal teas. They are easily available in the form of tea bags and has long been used a digestive relaxant, as well as being used to treat a number of gastrointestinal disturbances, which include nausea, vomiting, indigestion, motion sickness and diarrhoea.

The reason that it is so effective at getting rid of feelings of nausea by dispelling gas, and soothing the stomach and relaxing the muscles that move the food through the intestines.

Lemons

Lemon is known to clear away toxins, but on top of this, it can also serve as a natural remedy for nausea as well.

The effectiveness of lemon inhalation was tested in a double-blinded, randomised, controlled clinical trial. The trial looked at how lemon inhalation can help nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

The study looked at 100 pregnant women who were suffering from nausea and vomiting and were then divided into the intervention and control groups, who were then given a lemon essential oil, and a placebo to inhale accordingly. There was a significant difference between the two groups, with the intervention group showing a massive improvement, which suggested that lemon oil could be effective in use with pregnancy-related nausea.

To use lemon to help with sickness, you simply need to cut open a fresh lemon and inhale every time you feel a little nauseous. If you are feeling brave, you can also bite on a fresh lemon, or drink lemon water.

Acupressure

Acupressure is really effective and can be done anywhere within reason. By putting pressure in specific points of your body, you can relieve symptoms of discomfort or illness. Acupressure works in the same way that nausea bands do, but it is just you applying the pressure yourself. By utilising different pressure points in your body, it will release neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and endorphins.

Applying gentle pressure to the crease in your wrist will help your feelings of nausea.

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Disclaimer – Content written for and on behalf of Healthnotepad.com is not professional medical advice and therefore cannot be taken as such. If you have a serious health problem or are affected by any of the topics covered on Healthnotepad.com, you could seek professional medical advice. Please be aware of other issues such as allergens that may come in to play when reviewing our posts. Always consult a doctor if you or a peer has genuine health concerns.

I have a passion for all things medical, with a particular interest in how home remedies and natural solutions can be used to help enhance the effects of typical medicines and medications. My experience in the health industry is varied as a writer, covering all aspects of the industry from physical health and mental health, to more abstract pieces about medicine as a concept. I am not a doctor or a medical professional, I just love writing about it!